Why So Unhappy?

The old saying is "if you love your job you never have to work a day in your life." I think there is truth to that statement. Follow your dreams. Do what makes you happy and fulfilled. Being happy at work means being happier at home. According to the article below written by Jessica Dickler based on data from Manpower, 84% of workers plan to look for a job in 2011.
http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/84-of-jobseekers-looking-in-2011.html


I think the interesting question is why are so many people looking?
Is it:

frustration with the job

people feeling trapped because of the economy that they feel they can't leave

younger generations not believing they have to stay at one company for their working lives

since there isn't company loyalty to employees, people being preemptive about looking before they get fired

all of the above

I think all of the above is true. A also think there is another possibility. The change of what our economy is based on. This country used to be about making things: cars, machinery, electronics, textiles, and all their parts were made in this country. This went on for generations. I believe it became ingrained in us as a country. At the heart of the matter is I'm wondering if because we have moved more towards a service economy and don't make as many products in this country as we used to, that people's satisfaction at work is lower because we're not in careers that at the end of the day we can hold something in our hand and see proof of what we made, or proof we made a difference that day by providing something that someone can use.
Deep down I think we are a culture that likes to build things. Work with our hands. As our society has moved away from making tangible things that are easy for everyone to see and touch and explain to others, we're losing the ability to say to others "look what I did!" Lacking in this easy method of showing others what we do makes it a little harder for us to understand as well. We are still able to do that to some extent, but it is a lot harder to show someone lines of computer code and have them understand what we do for a living than show someone a piece of machinery. In some careers, like IT, I'm wondering if it might be that what we produce can't be easily explained. How does a disaster recovery specialist or a cold fusion programmer explain to someone what they do without going beyond simple language and examples unless the person they are explaining it to has the same experience.


I'm not sure if all of the above reasons listed are the only reasons people move jobs. I'm sure there are many more. The reason I'm talking about is something that I don't think anyone can exactly put a finger on. I've been writing and rewriting this article talking about the fundamental reason and I'm not quite sure I've got it quite where I want it. It seems the more research I do the more I get lost and rewrite the article. I think what I am trying to pin down isn't something that can be told with stats. This is just a "gut feeling." I believe that whatever you want to use to explain why so many people are unhappy in their jobs there is something more latent in our culture that is coming to the forefront with the transition from one type of economy to another. The recession, political shifts, world events, etc. that are all climaxing in a "perfect storm" of something. I'm just not sure what that "something" is, so your thoughts are welcome.


Thanks for reading my article!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"